King County restored floodplain habitat along the Snoqualmie River by removing a levee that prevented the river from accessing its floodplain on the Chinook Bend Natural Area. The county-owned property consists of 59 acres entirely within the 100-year floodplain. This project removed 1700 feet of levee and bank armoring and an additional 1300 feet of revetment to allow the river to access its floodplain at much lower flows. The material was disposed of off-site or used for farm pads in the valley. The disturbed area was graded to approximate historic bank conditions. Disturbed soils were amended and stabilized to reduce the potential for erosion by hydroseeding with native species and planting native trees, predominantly cottonwood and alder. Design and permitting of the levee removal project took place in 2007 and the first half of 2008. Project construction was broken into 2 phases. The first phase of construction (in 2008) included placement of large diameter cottonwood boles in strategic locations in the floodplain to create areas that slow flow and resist deep scour. Phase 1 is intended to prevent excessive channel widening, which can be a risk in altered floodplain settings. Additionally, approximately 50 pieces of large wood were installed to expedite the natural recruitment of wood. The second phase of the project removed the revetments and levees in summer 2009 and 2011. The project is expected to restore rearing habitat in close proximity to productive spawning habitat and along the outmigration corridor for nearly the entire population of the Snoqualmie run of Snohomish Fall Chinook. The WRIA 7 Chinook conservation plan calls for removal of levees and other obstructions that hinder the formation of off channel rearing habitat. Implementation of this project will be a significant step toward achieving the Snohomish River Basin Salmon Conservation Plan goal of restoring 80 acres of off channel habitat in the highest priority areas of the Snoqualmie watershed.